Kua roa te Māori e whakahaere ana i ngā mahi tāpoi ki Aotearoa, heoi kua rerekē te āhua o ērā mahi i runga i te au o te wā.
Kei roto i ngā rohe whenua o Tūwharetoa me Te Arawa ngā waiariki o te puku o Te Ika-a-Māui. E ai ki ngā kōrero i ahu mai ngā waiariki nei i a Ngātoroirangi, tohunga ahurei o Te Arawa waka. Ka tata mate ana a ia i te anu mātao ki runga o Tongariro, ka karanga ake a ia ki ōna tuāhine kia tukuna mai te ahi o Hawaiki marere mai nei ki Aotearoa. Ka oti tērā mahi ā rāua, ā, i whiwhi ai te whenua nei i ōna waiariki.
Ka whakamahia ngā ngāwhā ki te whakaora tangata, te tunu kai, te whakamahana me te horoi. Koinei te āhuatanga i tino kaingākautia e ngā turuhi.
Kāre i whai wāhi a Tuwharetoa ki ngā mahi tāpoi. Whai muri i ngā riri whenua o te tekau tau 1860, ka hua ake a Taupō hei pokapū mahi tāpoi, heoi ka taka ngā whakahaerenga ki ngā hoia ō mua, kāpā ki ngā iwi Māori.
I te tau 1887, ka kohaina e te ariki o Tūwharetoa, e Horonuku Te Heuheu, ngā maunga me ngā whenua o Tongariro, o Ngāuruhoe me Ruapehu ki te kāwanatanga. Ka noho ko ēnei whenua te tūāpapa o te Rohe A-Iwi o Tongariro i te tau 1894. Nā Te Tari Tāpoi i whakawhanake i ērā whenua hei rohe whenua ā-iwi. Heoi kāre i whai wāhi te iwi ki ngā whakahaerenga a te rohe ā-iwi, ā, ka kaha riro i muri i te tau 1914, i te whakawhititanga o ngā mana whakahaere o te whenua mai i te rōpū kaitiaki tuatahi ki te Tari Tāpoi. Ka whakahēhia ngā tono a te iwi kia uru atu ki ngā whakahaerenga o ērā whenua, ā, ka aua atu te wā kātahi ka whakaaturia te pānui whakaaetanga a Horonuku ki roto i te rohe ā-iwi.
Ko te mana whakahaere o Otūkapuārangi me Te Tarata nō te iwi o Tūhourangi. Atu i te tekau tau 1850, ka whakatūhia te pānui ki Te Wairoa e whakaatu ana i ngā utu mō ngā kaiārahi me ngā waka ki ngā pareparehua. I pērā rawa te whai rawa a Tūhourangi, ka tangohia ngā kanohi angaanga pāua o ngā whakairo, ā, ka tāpirihia ngā kapa kōura.
I te pokapū o te rau tau 1800, ka tīmata te takatakahia haere o ngā waewae Pākehā ki ngā whenua waiariki. Nā ngā mahi tāpoi ka kaha ake te ohanga. He pai tēnei nā te kore whai hua o ngā whenua waiariki i te mahi ahuwhenua. I Rotorua, ka mau tonu ngā Māori i ngā mana whakahaere o ngā waiariki ki tō rātou rohe. I te horapatanga o te kupu mō ngā waiariki nei, me te tuwhera o ngā wāhi rā ki ngā Pākehā, ka nui kē ake ngā tūruhi. Ka tūtū ngā tūruhi ki Ohinemutu i mua i tō rātou haerenga ki te whakamīharotanga nui rawa i tua atu o Te Wairoa – a Otūkapuārangi me Te Tarata, i te tahataha o Rotomahana. Ko ngā huarahi haere ki reira, nā Tūhourangi i tautiaki. He nui ngā rawa i puta ki tērā iwi i ērā wā.
I te tau 1874, ka tūtohu te kaitōrangapū a William Fox kia hoko te kāwanatanga i ngā whenua waiariki hei whakawhanake i tētahi hōhipera ngaio. Nā te Ture Springs Districts Act 1881 i whakature te Karauna kia hokona ērā momo whenua. Orua mai ka taka ngā rīhi whenua a te Pākehā mō ngā whenua Māori ki te kāwanatanga. Heoi, kāre i nui ngā moni ki te whika i wawatatia ai. Ka tīmata te kāwanatanga te hoko i ngā whenua papai o Te Arawa.
I te tau 1886, ka orotā a Otūkapuārangi me Te Tarata i te hūnga ake o Tarawera. Whai muri i te horonga, ka nuku te rahi o Tūhourangi ki Whakarewarewa noho ai. Ka hua tēnei wāhi hei mahinga tāpoi nui whakaharahara. Ka hinga ngā mahi tāpoi i te hū, ā, ka rongo a Tūhourangi me ētahi atu iwi i te rawakore. Nō te takiwā ki te paunga o te rau tau 1800 ka riro i te Karauna te mana ki ngā whenua waiariki ki ngā rohe o Rotorua me Taupō.
Taka mai ki te tīmatanga o te rau tau 1900, ka hokihoki ngā tūruhi ki Rotorua i te whakamahutanga ake o ngā mahi tāpoi atu i te hūnga o Tarawera i te tau 1886. I a te kāwanatanga te mana pupuri ki ngā waiariki katoa o Rotorua me Taupō. I te tau 1901, ka taka ēnei ngāwhā me ngā waiariki ki raro i te Tari Tūruhi me ngā Whakatauanga Hauora, e hautūngia ana e T. E. Donne. Ka riro i a Donne te mana whakaari i ngā toi Māori ki raro i te tari tāpoi. Ka whakamātau a ia ki te hanga hou i te ao Māori tawhito ki Whakarewarewa. Ka whakatahaina te Māori mai i te ohanga tāpoi, ā, ka whakamahia rātou hei taonga mātirotiro mā te tūruhi.
I te tau 1903 ka whakarewa te tari tāpoi i te Waimangu round trip, arā, he haerenga ka huri taiāwhio i ngā wāhi o te hū. Ka mīharotia tēnei haerenga i waenganui i ngā tūruhi nā te hītekiteki atu ki te waiariki o Waimangu. Ko te kaiārahi ko Alfred Warbrick o Ngāti Rangitihi, hāunga, kāre a ia nō Tūhourangi, te iwi nōna ake te mana whakahaere o te rohe. Kātahi ka whakawhitikina te mana whakahaere mai i te iwi ki te Tari Tūruhi me ngā Whakatauanga Hauora. I te rironga o te mana whakahaere i a Tūhourangi, ka tahuri rātou ki ngā mahi pāmu whai oranga ai, me te kāwanatanga i ngā wā mōrearea.
I te rau tau 1800 ka whakamahi te hunga tūruhi i ngā tāngata Māori hei ārahi haere i a rātou. Tokorua ngā wāhine ōwhiti, ko Sophia Hinerangi rāua ko Kate Middlemass. Ka haere tonu tēnei tikanga i a Mākereti Papakura, tana tuahine a Bella me Rangitīaria Dennan.
Ka whakamātau te tari tūruhi ki raro i a T. E. Donne ki te hanga hou i tētahi pā ki runga i te pā tawhito o Rotowhio, he puke e tū ana ki waengarahi i ngā waiariki o Whakarewarewa. Ka tāorohia te pā tawhito ki te whakatū i te pā hou. Ka tīmata ngā Māori te karo i tōna tūturutanga me te kī ake, he ‘paraka hōia’ kē.
I ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1900, ahakoa te muia o ngā pā o Ōhinemutu me Whakarewarewa i te tūruhi, korekore ana te kāwanatanga me te kaunihera ā-rohe i tahuri ki te whakatikatika i tōna āhua. He karukaru ngā whare, ā, ka noho ko Whakarewarewa anake te wāhi kīhai he pūnaha para kei roto. I te tau 1902, ka toko ake i a Donne te hanga i te tauira o tētahi pā. He nui te wenerau i puta i te āhua o tōna hanga. Nō te tau 1910 ka tuwheratia te pā nei.
Nāwai rā, he marae puehu te pā. Kātahi ka rongo te motu mō te āhua rawakore o ngā pā kāinga o Ōhinemutu me Whakarewarewa. Hāunga ko te māharahara kē ko te mate ki te ao tāpoi, ā, kaua ki te noho rawa kore a ērā iwi. I te tau 1926 ka hī ake te rōpū kāwanatanga hei tirotiro i te take nei. Ko te tohutohu a te rōpū kia whakahouhia ngā whare o ngā pā, heoi korekore rawa te whakaaro nei i whakatinanahia, ā, ka paheke tonu te noho. Ka tūtū hoki ngā pihi o te hunga tūruhi, i puta ai te hau kino ki te motu.
Ka noho tonu ko Rotorua tētahi wāhi haere mā te tūruhi, engari kua huri te aro o te nuinga mai i ngā roto wera ki ngā roto makariri me ētahi atu wāhi mīharo o Te Waipounamu. Nō te tekau tau 1860 tineia ai ngā mana whenua Māori ki te nuinga o ngā rohe o Te Waipounamu, nā reira kāre i whai wāhi ngā Māori ki ngā mahi tāpoi ō reira.
Nō te putanga o ngā waka rererangi torohaki ki Aotearoa i te tekau tau atu i 1960, ka waipuketia te motu i te tūruhi. Nō te whakataunga o te Tari Tāpoi ko 1966 te ‘Haere-mai Year’, he maha ngā whakahē a ngā Māori nā tō rātou kore whai take ki taua ingoa rā.
Nā te whakaturenga o te ture ki roto i te Paremata i te tau 1963, ka whakatūhia te Wānanga Toi Whakaari Māori ki Whakarewarewa. I tua atu i te wānanga, he whāiti noa iho ngā huarahi pakihi tāpoi ki te Māori. Hāunga, he tūranga matua tō te ao Māori ki te whakatairangatanga ake o Aotearoa ki te hunga tūruhi.
He iti noa ngā pakihi tāpoi ki Rotorua i roto i ngā ringaringa Māori. Ka whakahaere tonu a Ngāti Rangiteaorere i te waiariki o Tikitere. Ko Mokoia i noho ki raro i te Kaitiakitanga o Mokoia, me ngā iwi whai pānga a Ngāti Whakaue rātou ko Ngāti Rangiteaorere, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Ngāti Uenukukōpako. I te paunga o te rau tau 1900, ko Rotorua tonu te pokapū o te tāpoi Māori – tae rawa ki Tamaki Māori Village (he kape o ngā pā tawhito), Whakarewarewa Village me Te Puia, e tū ana i te taha o te Wānanga Toi Whakaari Māori.
He āhuatanga nui te toi whakaari Māori i roto i te ahumahi tāpoi Māori – he āhuatanga pupuri hoki te mahi tāpoi i te tikanga whakaaro me te reo Māori, tae rawa ake ki Rotorua.
He hiahia nō te rahi o ngā tūruhi ki ngā waiariki i te ‘tūturutanga’, nā whai anō ka whakatūhia ngā whare whakairo ki ērā wāhi kia rite ki te kāinga Māori tawhito. He iwi tautōhito a Te Arawa, tae rawa ake ki a Ngāti Tarāwhai ki te mahi whakairo. He nui ngā whare whakairo i hangaia mō ngā mahi tāpoi anake.
Atu i te tau 1902, ka whakamahi te Tari Tāpoi i ngā tohunga whakairo, pērā i a Tene Waitere rāua ko Anaha Te Rāhui ki te whakairo i tētahi pā hou ki Rotorua. I utua rātou ki te £5 i ia wiki.
I te tau 1927, ka whakatūhia te kura whakairo ki Rotorua. I whakatūhia tēnei i raro i te Māori Arts and Crafts Act i te tau 1926, i hautūngia e te mema paremata Āpirana Ngata.
I hangaia Te Wānanga Toi Whakairo Māori ki tētahi pā hou. I whakatūhia i runga i te ture paremata o 1963. Nā tōna whakahaerehia e tētahi poari, kāpā ko te kāwanatanga, te hinonga tūmataiti rānei, kīhai i māeneene ngā whakahaerenga i waenganui i te kāinga o Whakarewarewa, e tū ana i tōna taha. Nō te tau 1967, ka whakatūhia te kura whakairo ki raro i te mana o Hōne Taiapa. Ka āhei ngā manuhiri te mātaki i ngā kaiwhakairo e mahi ana, me te hoki i ō rātou taonga. Ka whakangungu anō te kura i ngā kairaranga.
I mea te rangatira o Tainui, a Robert Mahuta mō te pānga o te mahi tāpoi: ‘Waihoki ki te noho motuhake o Tūhoe, me te Kīngitanga mō Tainui, i puta ko te mahi tāpoi ki a Te Arawa. Ka mutu ka poipoihia te reo me ngā tikanga i te hiahia o ngā tūruhi ki ērā āhuatanga.’1
Atu i ngā tau tōmua o te rau tau 1900, ka tīmata ngā kapa haka Māori te haere ki tāwāhi, tae rawa ake ki ērā i raro i te manu taki nei a Maggie Papakura.
I tū te whakataetae haka ā-motu tuatahi i te tau 1972 ki Rotorua. I ngā tau tōmua o te mano tau 2000, e rua ngā rōpū nō Te Arawa i eke ki te whiringa tokoono, arā, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi me Te Matarae i Ōrehu. E haere tonu ana te whakangahau tūruhi ki te haka ki ngā wāhi pērā i a Te Puia ki Rotorua, Wairākei ki Taupō, me Ko Tāne ki Ōtautahi.
Ahakoa he āhuatanga whakaora te mahi tāpoi i te toi Māori, kua rere ngā whakapae mō tōna tūturutanga. He tauira katoa ngā tiki kirihou, ngā tāre Māori kua kākahutia, ngā uhi tēpū me ngā tauwera Māori ki ngā taonga ‘Maoriana’ e hokona ana ki te tūruhi. He tokomaha hoki ngā taonga whakairo, raranga hoki a te Māori kua hangaia mō te mākete tāpoi. I te tau 1994 ka hui te Aotearoa Maori Tourism Federation me te kōrero i ngā anipā e pā ana ki te whakanaonga o te tini o ngā tiki me ngā tekoteko – ko te nuinga i hē katoa te mahi. Kātahi ka hangaia te waitohu ‘toi iho’, kia mōhio te hunga tūruhi he taonga tūturu Māori tērā e hokona ana e rātou.
I ngā tau tōmua o te mano tau 2000, ko te takotoranga whenua te whakamīharotanga nui ki ngā tūruhi o tāwāhi.
Ka noho tonu ko Rotorua te pokapū o ngā mahi tāpoi ā-iwi. Ka puea hoki ētahi atu mahinga tāpoi Māori.
Kua tautohetia te tūranga o te tāpoi Māori ki Aotearoa. Kua roa nei e noho ana te tāpoi Māori ki Rotorua. I te tau 1996 ka kī te perehitini o Inbound Tour Operators Council ‘he pai ētahi toi Māori, heoi kāre ngā tūruhi e hiahia ana i tērā i ngā wā katoa … Ka kite rātou i te āhuatanga Māori ki Rotorua. Ka oti tērā, tukuna rātou kia kite i te motu whānui.’1
Hāunga tērā, kua whakawhanake ngā Māori i ngā mahinga tāpoi, me ngā kapa haka me ngā hāngī puta noa i ngā pokapū tūruhi o Aotearoa.
I ngā tau tōmua o 2000, he nui ngā whakahaerenga ririki, ā-whānau hoki. Ko ētahi kāre i mahi hāngī, haka rānei. I tīmata te Whale Watch Kaikōura i te mōketehia o te uri o Ngāti Kurī i tana whare hei utu i ngā nama mō te mātirotiro tohorā.
I waihangahia e Mike rāua ko Doug Tamaki i a Tamaki Tours i te tau 1990 i tō rātou hoko atu i te motupaika Harley Davidson. Ka heria kē ngā mahi kapa haka me te kai hāngī mai i te hōtera ki tētahi pā i hanga houtia ki te taha tonga o Rotorua.
Ko ētahi whakahaerenga i tū ki runga i ngā whenua o ngā rōpū kaitiakitanga me ngā kaporeihana. Ko tētahi tauira ko te Wakatū Incorporation, tētahi o ngā kaipupuri o Abel Tasman Kayaks. Ko ētahi pērā i a Ngāī Tahu Tourism, i whakaratongia whai muri i ngā whakataunga tiriti.
‘Hiahia katoa ngā Māori te whakahaere i ō rātou ake whakaaturanga. Kāre e hiahia rātou kia riro i ngā turu whakamurunga e toru o te pahi, hei rōpū tāpiri rānei. Kāre mātou e hiahia te tū ki ngā whare o ētahi.’2
E mea ana te kaiwhakahaere tāpoi a Mike Tamaki, kāre e pai kia whāngai i ngā tūruhi ki te hākari me te haka noa iho. I mea a Ropata Taylor o Wakatū Incorporation, ‘’kāre mātou e whai kaha ki te mahi hāngī me te haka. Ko te waina sauvignon blanc, te kōura me te kuku – tō mātou whāinga nui i runga i ō mātou marae.’3 I ngā tau tomua o 2000, he āhuatanga Māori e whakatairangahia ana e Potiki Adventures ki Tāmaki. Ki Te Waipounamu, ka whakahaere a Ngāi Tahu i ngā mahi hoe waka, te whakatere waka torohaki me te mātirotiro awa kōpaka.
Ko te kanohi o ngā mahi tāpoi Māori i ngā tau tōmua o 2000 ko te Kaunihera Mahi Tāpoi o Aotearoa. He maha ōna rōpū mahi tāpoi ā-rohe kei roto i tēnei rōpū. I te tau 2008, e mea ana te kaunihera, e 350 te maha o ngā pakihi tāpoi Māori ki Aotearoa nei. 37 ōrau ō ēnei he haerenga, 15 ōrau he noho, 15 ōrau he toi Māori, 12 ōrau he whakamīharotanga, 11 ōrau he toa hokohoko, 7 ōrau he wāhi kai, 5 ōrau he haerenga mā runga waka, 5 ōrau he haka me te hāngī, 1 ōrau he noho marae. Ko te nui ō rātou he whakahaerenga ririki kāre ōna kaimahi.
I te tau 2006, ka whakapae te Manatū Tāpoi, 567,200 te rahi (80 ōrau nō tāwāhi, 20 ōrau nō konei) o ngā tūruhi i haere ki tētahi whakahaerenga tāpoi Māori.
Ka whakaputaina e ngā kaiwhakaputa o Peretānia a Rough Guides i te The rough guide to Māori New Zealand, i te tau 2004, ā, he maha ngā whakahaerenga Māori kua whakaaturia ki runga i ngā puka ārahi o Lonely Planet.
Cooper, Barbara. The remotest interior: [a history of Taupo]. Tauranga: Moana, 1989.
Locke, Cybèle. Maori and tourism (Taupo–Rotorua), 1840–1970. Wellington: Crown Forestry Rental Trust, 2004.
McClure, Margaret. The wonder country: making New Zealand tourism. Auckland: Auckland University Press, 2004.
O'Malley, Vincent, and David Armstrong. The beating heart: a political and socio-economic history of Te Arawa. Wellington: Huia, 2008.